7 Tips For Improving Your E-Commerce Strategy

Today’s marketing is all about your strategy. Gone are the days of mailing print ads to different neighborhoods or posting sporadic blog posts. Now it’s all about having an innovating idea for reaching your audience and knowing how to convert users. You need to know how to make a real impact with your e-commerce strategy.

There is a lot of noise online your business has to compete with on a daily basis. With the rise of social media, consumers are constantly seeing advertisements from different companies all fighting for the same attention online. If you want your e-commerce business to succeed, you need the right strategy. Here are 7 tips for improving your e-commerce strategy so you can convert more users into customers.

1. Go Mobile

In a few years, desktop computers might become a thing of the past. Already you can see how technology is going more mobile. In February of this year, StatCounter reported over 50% of internet users were browsing from a mobile device. That’s a percentage you can’t ignore. It’s safe to assume at least half of your website users will be browsing from a smartphone. Make sure your website is mobile friendly so you don’t lose any potential customers!

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing is a trendy term that can be hard to grasp if you’re not sure why it applies to your business. LinkedIn defines content marketing as creating strategic content that provides value to users. The key word in this definition is value.

Nobody likes to feel like they’re receiving a sales pitch. The content your e-commerce website produces shouldn’t read like sales copy, it should actually offer something valuable. This can be done through a blog post, in-depth video, or anything else you can think of that keeps the focus on education. Once you’ve built an audience who trust you, you’ll be more likely to create loyal customers.

3. Be Innovative

There’s always a room for innovation in marketing. Think of the big game-changers in e-commerce like Amazon which have built an entire brand around breaking the rules. There’s no reason you can’t take the same approach to your own strategy. The e-commerce guru’s at expertsure.com created an important business machines infographic which highlights the ways innovation transforms the world of business. Will your innovation be next?

4. SEO Optimization

In the age of Google, you can’t ignore SEO if you want your e-commerce website to be noticed. SEO is about more than keywords and heading tags. It’s about knowing how to get your website noticed in your niche. You don’t have to be a computer genius to master the basics of SEO. The Kissmetrics blog has an in-depth guide to SEO for e-commerce websites or if you are using Shopify, you can read this post on how to get more organic search traffic.

5. Easy Buying

The easier you make it for users to buy something on your website, the more successful your website will be. Nobody likes to search around for the right products or information. Instead, make it easy for consumers to find key pages and best-selling products. People don’t have the patience to search a confusing website. Most consumers are impulsive shoppers, especially online. Don’t give them a chance to second-guess their purchase while it’s still in their cart!

6. Interact with Customers

E-commerce is about more than just your business, it’s about your customers. Turn the focus back on your customers by actually encouraging interaction. Too many websites nowadays make it seem like there’s only a robot behind the screen. Add the humanity back into your website! Make it easy for users to contact you with questions, and investigate the best on-site support features for easy communication.

7. Listen to Feedback

Feedback is vital to any e-commerce website. It’s hard to view your own business website clearly when you’re so close to it. If you want to know where to improve, you just have to listen to customers. Engage with customers on social media and through contact forms about what works and what doesn’t. Send email surveys after purchases to see if there is anywhere your business can improve. In this article, Forbes outlines 9 ways to get customer feedback that actually work. Don’t just listen to feedback, but actually act on it. Customers want to feel heard!

Conclusion

The right strategy can make or break your e-commerce website. Your strategy should include authentic interactions with consumers and a proactive approach to change. Realize that the best strategy is an adaptive strategy. The internet changes every day and what worked yesterday probably won’t work the same tomorrow. Listen to the tips above and be willing to alter them to fit your unique needs. If you’re consistent with your efforts, you’ll see the right results in your conversion rates.